• The IOC will initiate discussions on gender eligibility criteria in sports.
• Kirsty Coventry is the first female and African president of the IOC.
• A working group will be formed to develop consensus on transgender participation.
• Coventry emphasizes the importance of protecting the female category in sports.
• Transgender athletes currently remain eligible for Olympic participation.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will take a lead role in discussions regarding gender eligibility criteria in sports, announced its newly elected president Kirsty Coventry. This announcement comes four years after the IOC encouraged individual federations to manage gender eligibility independently. Coventry, who has made history as the first woman and African president of the IOC, highlighted the need for the organization to "protect the female category" during a press conference following her appointment, according to Reuters, Channel News Asia, and Dawn.

Coventry revealed that a working group will be established, composed of experts and representatives from various international federations, to spearhead these discussions. This initiative aligns with her desire for the IOC to unify stakeholders to ensure a consensus on the matter, reaffirming that "there will be differences depending on the sports," according to Reuters, Channel News Asia, and Dawn.

The IOC has historically refrained from applying a universal rule regarding the participation of transgender athletes, handing the responsibility to international federations to determine their own regulations. As it stands, transgender athletes remain eligible to participate in the Olympics, although rules differ widely among various sports federations, as noted in Reuters, Channel News Asia, and Dawn.

In a broader context, Coventry also indicated that IOC members are pushing for a more substantial role in the selection process of future Olympic host cities. Under her predecessor, Thomas Bach, a single candidate was favored, but members have shown support for implementing changes, reiterating the call for a review of future host city elections, according to Reuters, Channel News Asia, and Dawn.